The Federalist Radio Hour

The Federalist Radio Hour features a conversation on culture, religion, and politics with the editors and writers of The Federalist web magazine. Hosted by Ben Domenech with regular guests Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi, the show takes on controversies in America from a contrarian point of view.

LATEST EPISODE

Ben interviews Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, the conservative Congresswoman from Eastern Washington, in her office on Capitol Hill. They discuss the decline in trust in American politics, institutions, and the eugenics trend of aborting children diagnosed with down syndrome.

Past Episodes

The Foundation for Government Accountability is a free market think tank focused on health care, welfare, and government reform at the state level. FGA CEO Tarren Bragdon and VP of Federal Affairs Kristina Rasmussen discuss the opioid crisis and the nuts and bolts of health care policy.

In the new book, "Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue," author Ryan Holiday examines the threads of an incredible legal battle and tale of revenge that disrupted the world of media.
"It's not until two months later when Theil is unmasked that the New York Times and essentially all media outlets flip out," Holiday said.
"The precedent legally is much less than anyone thinks. The precedent culturally...that a few individuals working in secret can have massive implications on the discourse or relationship with technology is the real precedent."

James Hohmann, National Political Correspondent for The Washington Post, joins The Federalist Radio Hour after spending four days in Pennsylvania covering the special election. Hohmann discusses other upcoming competitive House races and Rex Tillerson's exit from the Trump administration.
"Being a corporate executive, being a master of the universe running ExxonMobil is a very different job from being a diplomat," he said. "The way that you're powerful [as Secretary of State] is being perceived as having the confidence of the President."

Amy Chua is bestselling author of "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," and a Yale Law School Professor. In her new book, "Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations," Chua explores how Americans can overcome our debilitating political tribalism.
"Tribalism, not only is it not always bad, it's hard wired in us," she said. "It's not that we can't overcome it, but our natural tendency is to want to belong to groups."

Jeremy Peters is a politics reporter at the New York Times who has covered campaigns, the auto industry, and now the Republican party. Peters and Domenech take a look back on ways the 2008 and 2012 elections contributed to a Trump presidency, and what conservative voters are thinking now.

Kmele Foster is a producer at Freethink media and host of The Fifth Column podcast. Foster and Domenech discuss the overlaps of freedom, race, politics, and entertainment.
"This is another area where you take race, inject it into an important issue and rather than talking about meaningful solutions... the only thing we can talk about is slavery and discrimination and how people who disagree with you are racist," Foster said.

Steven Pinker is a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist and author of the new book, "Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress."
Pinker joins Ben Domenech to discuss how safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise across the globe.

Daniel Hannan is a British writer, journalist and politician who was a member of the European Parliament for 17 years. He joins the show to discuss history, public discourse, conservatism, and what European politics can tell us about the changes in American politics.

Mark Weinberg is a former special advisor and press secretary to President Ronald Reagan. His new book, "Movie Nights with The Reagans: A Memoir" recollects the movies watched at Camp David with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Reagan presidency.